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call the winner

Is it correct to say "They were competing for my affections, so it was up to me to call the winner."? (as in, obviously, it was up to me to decide who the winner should be).
I seem to remember "call the winner" to be an idiom, but I can`t find it anywhere, so perhaps I`m confusing it with another idiom!? (call the shots).
thanks for your time.

Re: call the winner

I think the idiom you're looking for is 'name the winner'.... As 'name' can mean 'call', this would be a reasonable slip to make. (That is, if it is a slip, rather than just an expression I've never met. )

not a teacher

"Call the winner" implies guessing in advance the outcome of something you do not actually control. I will call the winner of the Super Bowl that's going to start three hours from now: Pittsburgh. A girl wouldn't "call the winner" of two guys as you propose, because she's in control and would simply decide who wins.

Re: call the winner

Originally Posted by stansa

Is it correct to say "They were competing for my affections, so it was up to me to call the winner."? (as in, obviously, it was up to me to decide who the winner should be).
I seem to remember "call the winner" to be an idiom, but I can`t find it anywhere, so perhaps I`m confusing it with another idiom!? (call the shots).
thanks for your time.

'Call the winner' is not an idiom. You're right about 'decide who the winner should be'.

Re: call the winner

A related expression (to 'call the winner' - in the sense of decide, in a race, who has won [this is a judgement of who physically crossed the line first, rather than a statement of preference] is 'too close to call', said of a 'blanket finish' in which it isn't obvious who finished first.